Social media was shook recently when Empire actor Malik Yoba came forward to reveal that he's "trans attracted," or attracted to transgendered women. The veteran actor received heavy backlash for his statements by some while also being applauded by others for stepping forward. However, Malik's three children have bore the brunt of their father's announcement and are on the receiving end of trolling and cruel messages.
"I apologize to my own children because my kids got some foul messages with folks thinking that it's okay because you don't understand something," he said in an Instagram video. "Just because you don't understand something does not make it wrong or does not make people wrong. I don't even understand all of it, but I'm willing to ask questions. I'm willing to align myself to get close to, so that I can understand. Just like I didn't understand Spanish, but I got close to it and learned to speak it. French. Japanese. Musical instruments. Math equations. You don't understand these things so you lean in. You ask questions. You inform yourself."
Yet, there is a trans woman named Mariah who shared a lengthy story on her Facebook page, accusing the actor of trolling areas and picking up trans child prostitutes. In a post titled "Surviving Malik Yoba: We had sex, when I was just a teen," she claims that she encountered him 20 years ago when she was 13-years-old. "What Malik paid me to do, as a 13 and 16 year old, wasnt love," Mariah wrote. "His ignoring that I was clearly a child prostitute, wasn’t love. Paying for cheap thrills and secret orgasms; begging for unsafe, unprotected sex from a runaway Trans teen, while enjoying stardom as a successful artist and business man ....isn’t love." Read her message in full below.
